Play swing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A children&#39;&#39;s play swing which is freely rotatable as well as being freely swingable from a single point of attachment. An approximately rectangular support means is suspended from a single point of attachment by a chain which is attached to the support means by a swivel. This allows the support to be adapted for either a child in the sitting position or for a child in a standing position. The swivel allows free movement of the swing in both the traditional front to back arch of most swings and also in a rotational method without twisting the chain or rope used to connect the support means to the point of attachment.

United States Patent 91 [11] 3,9

Bishop 5] Nov. 11, 1975 PLAY SWING APPARATUS Pt'iltltll') E.\'aminerRichard C. Pinkham Assistant E.ranzinerT. Brown [76] Inventor' 222;: 5222 233 19 Attorney, Agent, or FirmWoodard, Weikart,

Emhardt & Naughton [22] Filed: Sept. 11, 1974 A childrens play swing which is freely rotatable as well as being freely Swingable from a single point of 2 i i 87 88 89 attachment. An approximately rectangular support 1 5 297/278j 5/127 means is suspended from a single point of attachment by a chain which is attached to the support means by a swivel. This allows the support to be adapted for either a child in the sitting position or for a child in a d standing position. The swivel allows free movement of [56] References TENTS the swing in both the traditional front to back arch of UNITED STATES A most swings and also in a rotational method without 3.186.711 6/1965 MOXTOW 272/85 t i ti th h i OI- I-Ope d t Connect th Support 352L848 7/1970 Aase .v 272/61 means to the point of attachment 3588,103 8/1968 Fuller 273/l0 5 R 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures m f; fill i}! ll T :s m m 4/ I? 33/ Ll E Q a s5 g US. Patent Nov. 11,1975 Sheet10f2 3,918,709

US Patent Nov. 11, 1975 Sheet20 f2 3,918,709

PLAY SWING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to play apparatus for children.

2. Description of the Prior Art Although swings and swing sets of various types and designs are well-known in the prior art, such as those disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 2,638,967 (1953) to Morton, Jr. et a1 or U.S. Pat. No 2,083,574 (1937) to Mott, no known prior art swing assemblies disclose the rotational motion which can be achieved by the use of the swing apparatus of this invention. One reason that a freely rotatable swing has not been previously used is that it requires a considerable amount of room to operate. This would make a multi-swing assembly, such as are generally favored by toy manufacturers, difficult to economically manufacture. Therefore, manufacturers and childrens toy researchers have avoided a freely ro tatable swing such as this. A second reason that freely rotatable swings have not been found are the problems associated with twisting a chain or rope. This type of twisting places an extreme amount of tension on the particular chain or rope and after a period of time significantly weakens it. This problem is generally directly related to the fact that most swings have at least two points of attachment to whatever supporting structure is used. This makes twisting or rotation difficult and generally unsafe for the person using the swing. For these reasons it is felt that a swing which has a single point of attachment and which allows both a free rotational movement and a free swinging movement -is unique and would provide additional pleasure and recreation for children.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a swing apparatus consisting essentially of an approximately rectangular support means sized appropriately for one child to stand or sit in and having a single point of attachment positioned at the center of one short side of said approximately rectangular support means; linear connecting means connecting said support means to a stationary point and including along its length a swivel joint to allow unrestricted rotation about an axis along a line between said stationary point and said single point of attachment; and means for maintaining said support means and said connecting means at a sufficient height above ground to allow free movement of said support means.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a swing apparatus which can be conveniently connected to a swingle point and which allows unrestricted rotation.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a swing which in addition to allowing free rotation incorporates the safety features necessary to allow use of the swing apparatus by a child.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a freely rotatable swing assembly wherein the rotation of the swing does not require the twisting of the rope or chain connecting the swing to the support structure.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of the swing apparatus of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the swing apparatus of this invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the swing apparatus of this invention as supported by a standard swing set support assemblyv FIG. 4 is a side view of the swing apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

An approximately rectangular support member 10 is the basic frame which can be used to mount a seat 11 or to simply allow a child to stand without any seat. For the purposes of this application, the term approximately rectangular" refers to the structure as shown in the drawing having a long dimension defined by long sides 12 and 13 and a short dimension defined by short sides 14 and 15, the long and short sides being connected by rounded corners 16. Although support member 10 is in the general shape of a rectangle, the corners 16 are rounded for purposes of protection of the children who are using the apparatus. Support member 10 is constructed using a /8 inch metal piping or tubing and preferably having an outside diameter of approximately 0.675 inches and a wall thickness of approximately 0.091 inches. Support member 10 can most conveniently be made using a single piece of the /8 inch pipe approximately 9 to 10 feet in length. The pipe is bent in the approximately rectangular configuration and the ends are welded together at 20.

As an alternative embodiment support member 10 can be made from two individual pieces of pipe as shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2 the upper pipe 21 is smaller in diameter than the lower pipe 22. The diameters of pipes 21 and 22 are such that pipe 21 is telescopingly received by pipe 22. The two pipes, 21 and 22, are fixed in place by alignment of holes 17 and insertion of locking members 23. The result of this embodiment is that the long dimension of support member 10 is adjustable to accommodate children of various sizes and heights. As an additional alternative, short side 14 can be indented 36 to facilitate a more stable mounting of seat 11.

A seat 11 is mounted on short side 15 of support member 10. The mounting is by means of a pair of conventional bolts 24 being inserted through holes in seat 11 and continuing through holes in support member 10 to be exposed at the bottom of support member 10 where brackets 30 are used as additional supports. Conventional lock washers 31 and nuts 32 are then placed on bolts 24 and they are secured tightly. At the center 33 of the short side 14 opposite seat 11 a mounting member 34 is welded to the uppermost surface of support member 10. Mounting member 34 is a square metal piece having a /s inch hole 35 drilled in its cen ter. This comprises the basic swing apparatus.

A swivel connection 40 is attached to mounting member 34 either directly or by a connecting piece 41 such as a chain or rope. These swivel connections are commercially available and are manufactured in a large variety of sizes, shapes and strengths. Swivels 40 canbe located at either or both ends of connecting piece 41. One end of the connecting piece 41 is attached toa stationary connection point 42 as provided by a tree or other supporting arrangement. By such an attachment the swing is freely rotatable in addition to being swingable back and forth. The means for providing a stationary point arenumerous and well known. Examples are the traditional cross-bar with legs type arrangement of a normal swing set as shown in FIG. 3 or the less sophisticated mounting to a large tree. In either event, it makes no difference what the support member and chain are attached to as long as it is of a type that will maintain the distance between the support member and the ground.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing'description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims are desired to be protected.

What is claimed is:

l. A swing apparatus consisting essentially of:

a. an approximately rectangular support means sized appropriately for one child to stand or sit in and having a single point of attachment positioned at the center of one short side of said approximately rectangular support means, said support means being made using tubular metal;

b. chain means connecting said support means to a stationary point and including alongits length a.

swivel joint to allow unrestricted rotation about an axis along a line between said stationary point and said single point of attachment;

c. means for maintaining said support means and said chain means at a sufficient height above the ground to allow free movement of said support means; and

d. a seat fixedly attached to the short side of said approximately rectangular support means opposite said single point of attachment. I 2. The swing apparatus of claim 1 whereinsaid approximately rectangular support means has rounded corners.

3. The swing apparatus of claim 2 wherein the two long sides of said approximately rectangular support means are telescoped so that the long dimension of said approximately rectangular support means is adjustable. 4. The swing apparatus of claim 3 wherein the short side of said approximately rectangular support means having said seat attached thereto is indented to receive said seat. a

5. The swing apparatus of claim 1 wherein a first swivel joint is used to attach said chain means to said stationary point and wherein a second swivel joint is used to attach said chain means to said single point of.

attachment.

6. The swing apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means" for maintaining said support means and said chain bular steel structure having a pair of spaced support members connected by a cross member, said cross member having said stationary point.

=l =l= l 

1. A swing apparatus consisting essentially of: a. an approximately rectangular support means sized appropriately for one child to stand or sit in and having a single point of attachment positioned at the center of one short side of said approximately rectangular support means, said support means being made using tubular metal; b. chain means connecting said support means to a stationary point and including along its length a swivel joint to allow unrestricted rotation about an axis along a line between said stationary point and said single point of attachment; c. means for maintaining said support means and said chain means at a sufficient height above the ground to allow free movement of said support means; and d. a seat fixedly attached to the short side of said approximately rectangular support means opposite said single point of attachment.
 2. The swing apparatus of claim 1 wherein said approximately rectangular support means has rounded corners.
 3. The swing apparatus of claim 2 wherein the two long sides of said approximately rectangular support means are telescoped so that the long dimension of said approximately rectangular support means is adjustable.
 4. The swing apparatus of claim 3 wherein the short side of said approximately rectangular support means having said seat attached thereto is indented to receive said seat.
 5. The swing apparatus of claim 1 wherein a first swivel joint is used to attach said chain means to said stationary point and wherein a second swivel joint is used to attach said chain means to said single point of attachment.
 6. The swing apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for maintaining said support means and said chain means at a sufficient height above the ground to allow free movement of said support means comprises a tree.
 7. The swing apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for maintaining said support means and said chain means at a sufficient height above the ground to allow free movement of said support means comprises a tubular steel structure having a pair of spaced support members connected by a cross member, said cross member having said stationary point. 